Magic in Ura II by Sinthaster
Back to the Writer's Corner Previous: Magic in Ura by Sinthaster The Law of Blood The greatest rule of arcane study is this: The Law of Blood. The Law of Blood is the unbreakable rule of magic in our Seven Realms. It states: “The fuel of arcana is the blood of life.” All spells rely on the consumption of blood as a catalyst. Standard Arcane Notation and the Arcane Trinity All scholarly spells are written using Standard Arcane Notation. SAT is the use of Archon words (the language of magic originating from the Second Age) and the Arcane Trinity. The Arcane Trinity is a picture of an equilateral triangle pointing up with three separate values written at each point. Written at the top point is the conduit for the spell. This is the point of origin for the energy of the spell to materialize. On the lower left quadrant is written the blood price. This is the amount of blood that must be consumed to open the channel to the Conduit. In the lower right corner of the triangle is written the time taken to perform the spell. Arcane Trinities do not need to be physically present for a spell to work, they are simply an outline to demonstrate the proper method of recreating a spell. All known spells were created during the First, Second and Third Ages. No new magic has been uncovered for over a thousand years. Conduits (Cor) Magic requires three things to work: the blood price, a conduit, and time. In the last chapter I talked about the four different sources of magic: Divine (Divinus), Dark (Malum), Druidic (Vitae), and Draconic (Anguis). In Standard Arcane Notation, these are referred to as conduits. All spells follow one of those four channels and have a life unique to the flavor of that conduit. (It should be noted that, upon the reawakening of the Wraith Realm, scholars are conflicted as to its classification as a conduit. It does act as its own conduit when travelling through it, but more study is needed at this time before a true decision can be reached. It is my humble belief that the Wraith Realm as a conduit should be classified as Druidic magic. This is largely because in essence they are the same thing; drawing energy from a “living” source that is either unaware or uncaring of your doing so. No other conduit follows that behavioral pattern.) Tapping into these conduits requires a fuel source, and that is where the Blood Price comes into play. Think of the conduits as kindling for a fire; time is the wagon that delivers them to the pit and the blood price is the fire that ignites it. Though blood and time are important, the spark is useless without the fuel that it consumes. It is noted that men and Elves can draw from themselves as conduits (as well as paying the blood price from their own bodies). When Elves do this, it is classified as Divine magic. Their souls are pure and woven directly from the Gods. When humans do this, it is classified as Dark magic. For unknown reasons, humans that attempt to tap into their own soul for use as a conduit achieve results only evil in nature. The Dark Spirit, it would seem, overrules any light in the heart when magic comes into play. There are thousands of theories concerning this, but one thing remains true amongst all of them; no human can break this mold. Drawing from the self as a conduit afflicts the body and mind with trauma beyond that of the standard blood loss. Since one is tapping into the power of the soul directly, it is an immeasurable type of injury. Those who drew from themselves too often soon became husks of themselves. This is true of Elves but especially of humans whose corporeal bodies are not designed to tamper with the ethereal. This seeming advantage for Elves does have a caveat, however. The human body was purposefully designed by the Holy Seven to rebuke magic; though that it makes it more difficult for us to work the arcane, it also means that dark magic used against us is less potent. Elves do not share this resistance. As such, evil energies hold great power over the Sylvan folk. Though Elves are generally far more powerful than humans, no Elf has the capacity for Dark magic like humans do. In that way, the vast majority of humans are weaker than Elves, yet the outliers are extraordinarily dangerous to them. It is not unlikely that this has much to do with Elvish mistrust of Man. Blood Price (Pretium Sanguinis, Sanguinem) All spells use blood as a fuel source. Blood used in the consumption of spells is burned away almost instantly. Though originally measured in units of “sextarium” by the founders of Standard Arcane Notation, the Archon language found the inclusion of the identical “pint” to hinder their spell-casting none. Blood from self The most common way to create magic is using one’s own blood. The human body contains on average 12 pints of crimson ichor. After the loss of 1 pint, no lasting ill effects can be noted other than a slight dizzying sensation. After 2 pints, a loss of mental performance and physical weakness may be noted. After losing 5 to 6 pints, there is little hope for survival. For this reason, spells cast using one’s own blood are costly and can be done only occasionally. Divine practitioners with connections to the Seven find themselves able to utilize stronger magics. The Gods pay a portion of the blood price so long as their servant remains in their favor. Servants of the Goth were also able to do this before he was defeated during the events of the Black War. Blood pulled from the self does not need to leave the body first; magic can pull the necessary volume directly from the body. Blood from others Another method of procuring blood price payment is through the blood of other people. Whether willing or not, their blood is worth the same. This is usually the method of casting much more powerful spells. Those of good intention may sacrifice of their blood in large numbers together, though this practice is difficult and all but lost to time. Those of evil disposition may take blood from prisoners in selfish pursuits. If blood is drawn from willing participants, then the magic may freely take the blood from their bodies without need for an external wound. For unwilling participants, the blood must be forcibly spilled from their veins before the magic can use it as fuel. Stored blood Blood to be used to pay the blood price must be used within a few minutes of leaving the body. It is unknown why this is the case, though I have a theory that has been echoed by some men of higher learning. Alchemists have noted that fake blood does not achieve any arcane signature, even when crafted to be identical to real human blood. This gives credence to the idea that blood as a material is not important, but blood as a life force is. The act of blood leaving a body, the process of that person dying is what allows blood to act as a fuel for magic. It seems that all arcane arts rely on one constant; suffering. Animal blood, too, has no effect when used in place of human or elf blood. Animal sacrifices are ritualistic only and serve no true arcane purpose. Dwarves are a point of contention, as no studies have been done. It is believed that their blood would also achieve no results due to numerous factors. The greatest of these is, of course, their lack of divinity in any sense. They are still children of the gods, however, even if they are estranged. It is anyone’s guess, honestly. Time (Tempus) The last component of a proper spell is time. In Standard Arcane Notation, seconds are the smallest degree of time used. When exactly six seconds have passed, this is known as a Cycle. The vast majority of spells are cast either after some degree of seconds (denoted by an s), or after some degree of cycles (denoted by a c). Some greater spells and rituals have greater lengths of time and are usually written in longer script to explain why. Sairina’s Law (Lex Sairina) In the great ages of the past, powerful mages discovered a way to alter the Arcane Trinity of a spell. Though it was a collection of arcane warriors and scholars that unified to complete this task, the effort was helmed by Sairina of Uaman, a half-elven mage of good heart and powerful aspirations. Sairina’s Law dictates that if two of the three corners of the Arcane Trinity have their values increased, the third corner’s value decreases. For example, a spell that required six cycles to cast could theoretically be cast quicker if more blood was paid and the connection to the conduit was stronger. Some students theorized that it was possible to reduce the cost of one side of the Trinity to practically zero, though texts suggest that as a value continues to decrease, the others must increase exponentially. By virtue of their research (and documented experiences) that completely reducing one corner of the Arcane Trinity to zero is impossible. Of course, none of Sairina’s Law is observable now. The arts of invoking its power, or even the means of researching it, have all been lost to the Sundering. Now it remains only as a tool of debate and to fuel the dreams of wishful acolytes. The Seven as Conduits It is a common misconception amongst neophytes of the arcane community that there is no blood price for divine works. This is simply not true. As per the rules of Standard Arcane Notation and the Law of Blood, no magic can exist without the loss of life-blood first. Such is true even for the holiest of spells. The Seven Gods bestow upon their faithful the gift of their Godblood. When appropriating this for use in magic, it has been noted that the Godblood pays exactly half of the blood price. In this way, Fumnites may heal wounds or Darkmoon may light darkness using less blood than if they were secular practitioners. It should be noted that the total blood paid is the same, merely that half comes from a divine source. Scholars and theologians are divided on the matter of Godblood. Is it endless? Does this hurt the Seven or conversely show them praise? Does the Godswalk affect this in any way? This humble Saint does not know at this time. Some Arcane Trinities list a specific member of the Seven as a Conduit. This requires not only a strong connection to the Seven in general but a fierce devotion to that particular God. Components (Quarto Columna) Some spells require a special “fourth” item for completion. These are called components. Components are separated into one of several categories: linguistic, somatic, material or focus. If two or more of these components are needed in tandem for a spell, the spell is known as a Ritual spell. Components, if applicable, are noted using a specific symbol inside of the Arcane Trinity. Multiple symbols may be overlaid to denote multiple needed components. Linguistic (Verborum) Verbal spells require a phrase to be uttered by the caster before completion. Most spells known today or housed in the Great Library are invoked using Archon, the language developed by Men during the Second Age to help them better commune with magic. Words such as sanguinem, cor and other common terms used in magical jargon come from Archon. Somatic (Gestus) Somatic spells require a precise movement of the body, usually the hands. Certain schools of magic require complex full-body movement. Material (Materia) Material spells require the use of tangible objects unique to that spell or type of spell. These materials are always consumed during the spell casting process. Focus (Simulacrum) Like material spells, focus spells require a specific object to help channel blood energy to the conduit. Unlike material components, however, focus components are not spent during the spell-casting process (though some may be damaged). Ritual (Ritus) Most Rituals utilize linguistic, somatic and material/focus elements. They usually require large amounts of blood and time as well as a strong connection to the Conduit. As such, Rituals tend to be the strongest of spells.